Seoul Hotels

Seoul is the capital and largest city of South Korea. With a population of over 10 million, it is one of the world's largest cities and the second largest mega city in the world. The Seoul National Capital Area, which includes the major port city of Incheon and most of Gyeonggi-do, has 24.5 million inhabitants, larger than the population of Australia, and is the world's second largest metropolitan area. Almost half of South Korea's population live in the Seoul National Capital Area, and nearly a quarter in Seoul itself, making it the country's foremost economic, political, and cultural center. Located on the Han River in the center of the Korean Peninsula, Seoul has been an important settlement for over two thousand years, with its history dating back to 18 BC, when Baekje, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, established its capital in what is now south-east Seoul. The city then became the capital of Korea during the Joseon Dynasty and the Korean Empire. The Seoul National Capital Area includes four UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Changdeokgung, Hwaseong Fortress, Jongmyo Shrine and the Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty. Seoul's influence in business, international trade, politics, technology, education and entertainment all contribute to its role as a leading global city. It is considered to be an Alpha World City, ranking 9th in the 2008 Global Cities Index. Seoul is the iconic city of the Miracle on the Han River and hosted landmark international events such as the 1988 Summer Olympics and the 2002 FIFA World Cup. It is one of the world's top ten financial and commercial centers home to some of the world's largest conglomerates such as Samsung, LG and Hyundai-Kia. In 2005, the Seoul National Capital Area generated a total GDP of over $460 billion, larger than the economies of Finland, New Zealand and Norway combined. In 2008, Seoul was named the world's sixth most economically powerful city by Forbes.com, ahead of Paris and Los Angeles. Seoul has one of the world's most technologically advanced infrastructures and is often called the "Tech capital of the world". The Digital Media City in Mapo is the world's first complex for high-tech technologies and a test-bed for futuristic IT and multimedia applications. Today, Seoul is the only city in the world featuring DMB, a digital mobile TV technology and WiBro, a wireless high-speed mobile internet service, as well as a 100Mbits fibre-optic broadband network, which is being upgraded to 1Gbps by 2012. Seoul Station houses 350 km/h KTX high-speed rail and the Seoul Subway is the third largest in the world, with over 2 billion passengers every year. Seoul is connected to Incheon International Airport via AREX, which has been consecutively rated as the world's best airport by ACI since 2006